It’s easy to forget about some of the more cheerful aspects of poker with the way the game is sometimes today.  Things such as [[Online_poker|online poker]] room scandals, players being busted for housing home [[Gambling|gambling]] circuits, and some stars of the game having heads that have become too big for their shoulders taint poker and make people forget about why it was started in the first place – To have fun and develop camaraderie with friends.

But one story that’s been circulating around lately reinforced what good can come from [[Poker|poker]] if people truly enjoy the game.  Some people may have already heard about the Seattle area poker club that had been playing for 46 years straight.  And unfortunately, they may have also heard that this poker club started by Grant Erwin recently ended its run. 

Called the Puget Probability and Chowder Society, the group that participated in this poker club played at various homes throughout the Seattle area during the four and a half decades.  The interesting thing about these people is that they engaged in low stakes poker games but money wasn’t exchanged between the players.  Instead, it was given to Erwin and the money won was kept track of by tokens placed into a baby food jar.

Now Erwin didn’t just keep the money as he instead invested it in different stocks.  The way the shares were kept track of was through the tokens in the jar.  Eventually, those $10 and $20 winnings turned into $100,000 of collective profit amongst the group. 

The stock portfolio was recently cashed in by the group that included plenty of men in their 70’s and 80’s but the memories from the games will always live on with them.  The club often had members rotate in and out of the circle due to people moving away or passing away but those that remain still keep close ties.

To me, it’s great to hear a story like this because it reminds me that poker isn’t all about what goes in the major tournaments or how much money one can win online.